DeLL E152FPc Goes black after a second.

[Samantha]

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!


S.

 

[D Yuniskis]

Samantha wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Most likely bad capacitors in the inverter (or the bulk
supply feeding it). There are a HUGE number of Dell variants
so you might be able to find a similar monitor with a different
set of "trailing letters" in the model number (I've never
bothered to sort out the presumed meaning of all these
variations)

Most of these cases snap together. A very small slotted
screwdriver and/or one of the "blanks" used to fill an
empty "card slot" in a PC is invaluable.

Find a seam between the front and rear halves of the
display's case. *Think* about how the two pieces
are probably fitted together (i.e., one fits inside/behind
the other). Then, slide your tool into the seam and
*gently* pry them apart.

You can usually slide the tool along the seam until you
can "feel" where the catches are located. Usually, there
is symmetry -- the catches on the left side are placed in the
same locations as those along the right edge; ditto for
top and bottom (within reason). Also, there tends to be symmetry
about the vertical and horizontal axes -- so, if there is a catch
1" down (from the top) the left side, there is probably one 1"
*up* (from the bottom) on that side.

Experiment along the bottom -- someplace where your mistakes
aren't as cosmetically visible. (remember, plastic deforms easily
so you can easily gouge it with your tool).

Good luck!

 

[Meat Plow]

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:19:51 -0500, Samantha
<samantha@comcast.net>wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much

Weakest link = inverters. Verify voltage source first, forget what
they usually run but a guess would be around 20 vdc?

 

[Samantha]

In article <hagrps$q89$1@aioe.org>,
D Yuniskis <not.going.to.be@seen.com> wrote:

Samantha wrote:
I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Most likely bad capacitors in the inverter (or the bulk
supply feeding it). There are a HUGE number of Dell variants
so you might be able to find a similar monitor with a different
set of "trailing letters" in the model number (I've never
bothered to sort out the presumed meaning of all these
variations)

Most of these cases snap together. A very small slotted
screwdriver and/or one of the "blanks" used to fill an
empty "card slot" in a PC is invaluable.

Find a seam between the front and rear halves of the
display's case. *Think* about how the two pieces
are probably fitted together (i.e., one fits inside/behind
the other). Then, slide your tool into the seam and
*gently* pry them apart.

You can usually slide the tool along the seam until you
can "feel" where the catches are located. Usually, there
is symmetry -- the catches on the left side are placed in the
same locations as those along the right edge; ditto for
top and bottom (within reason). Also, there tends to be symmetry
about the vertical and horizontal axes -- so, if there is a catch
1" down (from the top) the left side, there is probably one 1"
*up* (from the bottom) on that side.

Experiment along the bottom -- someplace where your mistakes
aren't as cosmetically visible. (remember, plastic deforms easily
so you can easily gouge it with your tool).

Good luck!

Thanks, am fighting a really bad summer cold right now and am not really
up to messing with it.. But in the next day or so I will probably feel
well enough to take a crack at it...

Appreciated everyones input!

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:19:51 -0500, Samantha <samantha@comcast.net>
wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

The LCD backlighting inverter has died. Everything else is probably
just fine. The really tiny inverters are tricky to repair as a
shorted turn on the xformer will usually blow up all the switching
FET's. However, this one is big and easy to work on. I still suggest
replacement. Tear apart the monitor and get the part number off the
LCD inverter. Then search eBay and Google for a scrap replacement.
One of these looks right:
<http://www.lcdrepair.us/e152-e153fpc-inverter-power.html> $40.
<http://www.lcdrepair.us/e152-e153fpc-inverter-power-2.html> $30

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Bulging and leaking electrolytic caps are the most common problem.
Look at the board and you'll see about 8 electrolytic capacitors. If
they're even slighly bulging, they're bad. I'm lazy and replace them
all rather than trying to figure out which ones are blown. However,
with LCD inverters, the switching FET's are also commonly fried. If
replacing the caps doesn't work, I suggest just buying a replacement
board..

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Ummm.... you've heard of Google perhaps?

<http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&source=hp&q=lcd+monitor+repair#>
<http://www.lcd-monitor-repair.com>
Lots more when searching for "LCD monitor repair".

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:27:36 -0400, Meat Plow <meat@petitmorte.net>
wrote:

Weakest link = inverters. Verify voltage source first, forget what
they usually run but a guess would be around 20 vdc?

Now I know why we used to kill off a tech a year in the 2-way biz in
Smog Angeles during the 60's and 70's. They didn't know low from high
voltage. Duz the big fat insulation on the output leads offer a clue?

Try about 500-700VDC output.
<http://www.fonerbooks.com/test.htm>
The frequency range is also a problem. These bests run around
30-70Khz which is often beyond the upper frequency range of the
typical DVG (Digital-Volts-Guesser). I'm not sure if the high
frequency or the high voltage did the damage but I've killed at least
2 cheapo (Harbor Freight) DVM's measuring LCD inverter output. I've
also managed to get electrocuted several times, mostly due to haste,
sloppiness, clip leads, or all the aformentioned.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl@cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

 

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:20:12 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>
wrote:

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:19:51 -0500, Samantha <samantha@comcast.net
wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

The LCD backlighting inverter has died. Everything else is probably
just fine. The really tiny inverters are tricky to repair as a
shorted turn on the xformer will usually blow up all the switching
FET's. However, this one is big and easy to work on. I still suggest
replacement. Tear apart the monitor and get the part number off the
LCD inverter. Then search eBay and Google for a scrap replacement.
One of these looks right:
http://www.lcdrepair.us/e152-e153fpc-inverter-power.html> $40.
http://www.lcdrepair.us/e152-e153fpc-inverter-power-2.html> $30

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Bulging and leaking electrolytic caps are the most common problem.
Look at the board and you'll see about 8 electrolytic capacitors. If
they're even slighly bulging, they're bad. I'm lazy and replace them
all rather than trying to figure out which ones are blown. However,
with LCD inverters, the switching FET's are also commonly fried. If
replacing the caps doesn't work, I suggest just buying a replacement
board..

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Ummm.... you've heard of Google perhaps?

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&source=hp&q=lcd+monitor+repair#
http://www.lcd-monitor-repair.com
Lots more when searching for "LCD monitor repair".
Most of the monitor repair sites are nothiing more than an attempt to

sell an overpriced book 'How to repair LCD monitors'.

This specific problem is often referred to as the 'two seconds to
black' failure. A quick explanation of the operation of most
inverters, and the failure: The inverter has a controller IC that
generates the signals that drive the transformers AND monitors the
voltage and current outputs of the inverter. Usually the start up
sequence consists of driving the CCFL backlights at full brightness
for several seconds, then beginning to monitor the output voltage
across and current through each CCFL. If the output voltage is too
high or too low, or if the current is too high, for any CCFL the
controller will shut down.

Possible causes of this problem include bad CCFLs, a shorted
transformer, breakdown of insulation in the wiring, or bad components
in the monitoring circuits. The Dell E152FPc and related models use
an unusual design in the inverter driver; a bad transistor can also
cause this problem. And yes, bad capacitors could also be
responsible.

This monitor also combines the inverter with the power supply. This
makes replacement difficult unless you can obtain a non-working
identical monitor inexpensively. Buying through eBay is usually
impractical. The cost of shipping is prohibitive.

Rather than spending the time and money to repair a 15" monitor in the
USA I usually suggest watching the local Craigslist and Freecycle
sites for somone giving away 'dead' LCD monitors. Currently I am
using a 23" wide screen monitor I purchased for $15, and repaired by
replacing ALL electrolytic caps at a cost of $7. My lates acquisition
was a 19" Dell which had a broken power button. Not only was it a
simple repair, the donor DELIVERED it!!!

One site I STRONGLY recommend is www.badcaps.net/forum. They have
extensive discussions on repairing many LCD monitors, including this
one. Registration is required to post, but is free.

PlainBill

 

[Jim Yanik]

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote in
news:si8qc5ddk4a4sl60b8o4lul3ujgge6c91n@4ax.com:

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:27:36 -0400, Meat Plow <meat@petitmorte.net
wrote:

Weakest link = inverters. Verify voltage source first, forget what
they usually run but a guess would be around 20 vdc?

Now I know why we used to kill off a tech a year in the 2-way biz in
Smog Angeles during the 60's and 70's. They didn't know low from high
voltage. Duz the big fat insulation on the output leads offer a clue?

Try about 500-700VDC output.

I think he was talking about INPUT DC being ~20VDC

http://www.fonerbooks.com/test.htm
The frequency range is also a problem. These bests run around
30-70Khz which is often beyond the upper frequency range of the
typical DVG (Digital-Volts-Guesser). I'm not sure if the high
frequency or the high voltage did the damage but I've killed at least
2 cheapo (Harbor Freight) DVM's measuring LCD inverter output.

Because they are only 1 Meg input Z.
I took one apart to check it,was debating redoing the divider to 10MegR
total.Also,the AC section will not handle freqs over 1 Khz.

I've
also managed to get electrocuted several times, mostly due to haste,
sloppiness, clip leads, or all the aformentioned.

Not "electrocuted",but shocked.
"electrocution" is to KILL with electricity. Since you're still posting,you
aren't killed. ;-)


BTW,you can make a nifty HV probe for a 10Meg DMM by using a string of
22.5Meg 1% metal film R's to make 90 MegR,and putting it inside a plastic
tube like an old tuning tool,solder to a 6-32 screw and threaded 1/4" hex
spacer,a wire lead with banana plug on the other end,and use an old TEK 500
series probe hook-tip,or other TEK accessory tips.
Makes a nice 10:1 probe,and 100 MegR doesn't load the HV supplies so much.

I've used mine for a couple of decades.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

 

[Matthew Fries]

On Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:19:51 -0500, Samantha <samantha@comcast.net>
wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!


S.

I had one of these that did the same thing yours is doing. I replaced
a couple of transistors in the power supply. Here is a link to the
disassembly gude (with lots of pictures) to help you get it open:

http://www.lcdrepair.us/files/e172fpbinstall.pdf

I used an old credit card to open the sides. A metal screwdriver will
chew up the plastic and deform it too much.

Thanks.


Remove the BALONEY from my email address.
-----------------------------------------------------
Matthew Fries Minneapolis, MN USA
freeze@baloneyvisi.com

"Quit eating all my *STUFF*!" - The Tick

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:28:42 -0700, PlainBill47@yahoo.com wrote:

Some random comments.

Most of the monitor repair sites are nothiing more than an attempt to
sell an overpriced book 'How to repair LCD monitors'.

True. However, the OP appears to be a beginner and an overpriced book
might be a good start. Some others just sell parts:
<http://www.ccl-la.com/monitor_repair.htm>
I question whether it's worth the time and effort to repair a 15" LCD
monitor, but this sounds like a personal repair job, not a business.
It takes me about an hour to tear apart a monitor, replace all the
cazapitors, reassemble, and test. At $75/hr, that exceeds the value
of all 15" monitors making commercial repair uneconomical even if the
parts were free. Anything that keeps it out of the eWaste pile is
probably justifiable.

The Dell E152FPc and related models use
an unusual design in the inverter driver

Not that unusual. This one has two boards, power supply + LCD supply,
and a logic board. I think the PS is made by BenQ, but I'm not sure.

Buying through eBay is usually
impractical. The cost of shipping is prohibitive.

Does $20 plus $6 shipping seem prohibitive for do it thyself?
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360193406812>
I buy quite a few parts and pieces on eBay. Most are fair prices. A
few times, I get cheated.

Rather than spending the time and money to repair a 15" monitor in the
USA I usually suggest watching the local Craigslist and Freecycle
sites for somone giving away 'dead' LCD monitors. Currently I am
using a 23" wide screen monitor I purchased for $15, and repaired by
replacing ALL electrolytic caps at a cost of $7. My lates acquisition
was a 19" Dell which had a broken power button. Not only was it a
simple repair, the donor DELIVERED it!!!

Nice. I have about 10 such monitors hidden in the closet waiting for
me to find the time to raise them from the dead. Most are
backlighting or power supply issues. Most were customer "upgrades"
where they wanted a newer bigger monitor. I use them as loaners when
working.

One site I STRONGLY recommend is www.badcaps.net/forum.

Nice. Thanks for the analysis and the links.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[D Yuniskis]

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:28:42 -0700, PlainBill47@yahoo.com wrote:

Most of the monitor repair sites are nothiing more than an attempt to
sell an overpriced book 'How to repair LCD monitors'.

True. However, the OP appears to be a beginner and an overpriced book
might be a good start. Some others just sell parts:
http://www.ccl-la.com/monitor_repair.htm
I question whether it's worth the time and effort to repair a 15" LCD

Agreed. I stopped repairing 15's quite a while ago. Then 17's.
Now I am getting ready to give up on the 19's (except for wide
screen format monitors). They tie up a lot of work space and
prices have fallen such that you can buy (economy) versions of
even the larger sizes for less than what it costs in time and
materials to fix (and not have to deal with the possibility of
discovering the screen is "smudged" after you've made the repair)

monitor, but this sounds like a personal repair job, not a business.
It takes me about an hour to tear apart a monitor, replace all the
cazapitors, reassemble, and test. At $75/hr, that exceeds the value
of all 15" monitors making commercial repair uneconomical even if the
parts were free. Anything that keeps it out of the eWaste pile is
probably justifiable.

There are lots of businesses/individuals that will harvest bad
monitors for parts (display panels, lamps, etc.) so you should
be able to find a non-landfill outlet for your unwanted units.
Heck, there are folks still salvaging CRTs!

Buying through eBay is usually
impractical. The cost of shipping is prohibitive.

Does $20 plus $6 shipping seem prohibitive for do it thyself?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360193406812
I buy quite a few parts and pieces on eBay. Most are fair prices. A
few times, I get cheated.

Just make sure that you don't end up with a "pull"... :>

 

[D Yuniskis]

Jake wrote:

On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha <saman...@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

Dell has subtle variations in these monitors -- none that I
have been able to *quickly* identify (at least not enough
that I could open one and determine which model it was just
by examining its contents!)

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

The PCB darkening is usually from the nearby switching transistor.
When replacing the cap(s), select high temperature devices (105C)
from "reputable" manufacturers (I like panasonic). You want a low
ESR cap on most of these applications -- something "designed for
switching applications" (I like the FM series as a reasonable
cost/performance point). Note that you can also purchase
different *grades* of "low ESR caps". So, if you are repairing
a particularly "cherry" monitor for your *own* use, you might
opt for something rated at ~10,000 hours (instead of ~5,000).

Also, pay careful attention to the *height* of the component!
I've been bitten by components that were just a bit too tall
to fit back into the case (*with* the metalic shield installed).
Lead spacing is also a concern but usually something you can
work around.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

It probably wouldn't hurt to examine the other caps on the board
for "likely future failures". Certain manufacturers tend to
have lots of early failures (I joke that "Xom" in the name
means "gonna crap out soon"). Since most of the "cost" of
the repair is getting the unit apart and then back together,
the extra time and expense to replace all likely candidates
seems justifiable.

 

[Jake]

On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha <saman...@comcast.net> wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on.  The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.  

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for.  Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

S.

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

-Jake

 

[Jake]

On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha <saman...@comcast.net> wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on.  The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.  

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for.  Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

S.

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

-Jake

 

[Jake]

On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha <saman...@comcast.net> wrote:

I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on.  The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.  

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for.  Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

S.

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

-Jake

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:50:36 -0700, D Yuniskis
<not.going.to.be@seen.com> wrote:

Now I am getting ready to give up on the 19's (except for wide
screen format monitors).

Not exactly. I'm finding a substantial demand for 4:3 aspect ratio
LCD monitors. Anyone dealing with vertical page oriented text finds
that the height really matters. A 16:9 LCD is fine for watching
DVD's, but a real challenge when doing desktop publishing or document
preparation. In the past, LCD's would rotate to a vertical position,
but that seems to be a feature missing in most 16:9 monitors. I've
had numerous calls for people looking for 4:3 monitors. I can usually
find a few new 4:3 monitors on NewEgg and TigerDirect, but those will
eventually dry up. So, I save the good ones (19" or bigger) and just
wait for the phone calls.

They tie up a lot of work space and
prices have fallen such that you can buy (economy) versions of
even the larger sizes for less than what it costs in time and
materials to fix (and not have to deal with the possibility of
discovering the screen is "smudged" after you've made the repair)

Yep. However, I don't let them hog the bench space. I have some
conveniently sized cardboard boxes that fit LCD's vertically. I also
have some anti-static foam bags for protecting the screen.

Good point about screen defects discovered after the repair. That
hasn't happened too often. What I see is water damage near the bottom
of the LCD caused by compulsive screen cleaners. Also, it is easy
enough to apply voltage to the CCFL backlight bulbs after you tear it
apart to see if there are any cracks or damage.

There are lots of businesses/individuals that will harvest bad
monitors for parts (display panels, lamps, etc.) so you should
be able to find a non-landfill outlet for your unwanted units.
Heck, there are folks still salvaging CRTs!

Yep. They want to buy the scrap by the ton. Very few will buy
untested scrap electronics because there's no way to know if it will
work when resold. I do some trading with such vendors, but I always
have to guarantee (100% refund) everything we sell each other.

Buying through eBay is usually
impractical. The cost of shipping is prohibitive.

Does $20 plus $6 shipping seem prohibitive for do it thyself?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360193406812
I buy quite a few parts and pieces on eBay. Most are fair prices. A
few times, I get cheated.

Just make sure that you don't end up with a "pull"... :

That's the problem. For example, I just bought a DC controller for an
HP LaserJet 4200. Big crack on the formatter PCB. I could send it
back as defective and get another, or just patch the board and be done
with it. I'll probably phone the eBay vendor and see what he has to
offer. That's one of the risks of buying obviously used parts.

Where I get into bigger problems is buying replacement board for
products that have a manufacturing related problem. If one board is
sick or dead, it's highly likely all the boards will be in the same
condition. I had to deal with a motherboard that was just too much
work to replace all the bad caps. However, it was obvious that all
the replacement boards selling on eBay had exactly the same problem
because all the vendors listed their boards as no-return.

Caveat emptor.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[D Yuniskis]

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:50:36 -0700, D Yuniskis

Now I am getting ready to give up on the 19's (except for wide
screen format monitors).

Not exactly. I'm finding a substantial demand for 4:3 aspect ratio
LCD monitors. Anyone dealing with vertical page oriented text finds
that the height really matters. A 16:9 LCD is fine for watching
DVD's, but a real challenge when doing desktop publishing or document

Understood. My point is that the price/repair point is quickly
moving to make 19" as uneconomical to fix as the 17's have become.

preparation. In the past, LCD's would rotate to a vertical position,
but that seems to be a feature missing in most 16:9 monitors. I've

I have a Dell that rotates. But, in order to do so, the display
has to be "up" high enough (so the rotating end doesn't wack
into the tabletop). This places the display too high for me
in my normal usage.

[N.B. I have been told by folks who wear bifocals that even
*my* display height is too high for them to use comfortably;
they end up having to tip their heads too far back to bring
the screen into the correct portion of the eyeglass lens to
focus]

I do a lot of DTP and have found that I can get pretty good
performance out of nearly any "large-ish" display. When
working on prose, etc. I zoom the image to "fit width".
This gives me lots of detail (when you've got 1600 dots
to play with :> ) and enough of the page vertically that I
can see what I am doing. I only look at full page views
when I want to get a feel for the layout of the page,
the location of whitespace, etc.

A second monitor is invaluable in just about any desktop
(not just DTP) application. It lets you work in one *full*
screen while having another (full!) screen for other uses
(e.g., floating pallets for image editing, "text" that
you are copy/pasting into the actual application, a OCB
schematic alongside the PCB *layout* you are working on,
etc.)

had numerous calls for people looking for 4:3 monitors. I can usually
find a few new 4:3 monitors on NewEgg and TigerDirect, but those will
eventually dry up. So, I save the good ones (19" or bigger) and just
wait for the phone calls.

They tie up a lot of work space and
prices have fallen such that you can buy (economy) versions of
even the larger sizes for less than what it costs in time and
materials to fix (and not have to deal with the possibility of
discovering the screen is "smudged" after you've made the repair)

Yep. However, I don't let them hog the bench space. I have some
conveniently sized cardboard boxes that fit LCD's vertically. I also
have some anti-static foam bags for protecting the screen.

Most of the displays I've fixed have too many "things" hanging
off of them (cabling to speakers or pushbuttons attached to the
front bezel, etc.). Plus, the *stands* don't store well
(bulky). Living room floor works well -- but only for a limited
number of displays! :> (there are currently six 21 inch LCDs
awaiting pats in various states of disassembly... this causes
a fair amount of grief! And, isn't realistic when you have
pets :< )

Good point about screen defects discovered after the repair. That

If I did this for a *living*, I would just keep a spare inverter
around and hack it into the "bad" display long enough to illuminate
the display (using a nice "white" test screen) to check for these
"smudges" before investing much time in the repair.

hasn't happened too often. What I see is water damage near the bottom
of the LCD caused by compulsive screen cleaners. Also, it is easy

Ah! I've not seen that! I should start looking more closely.

enough to apply voltage to the CCFL backlight bulbs after you tear it
apart to see if there are any cracks or damage.

There are lots of businesses/individuals that will harvest bad
monitors for parts (display panels, lamps, etc.) so you should
be able to find a non-landfill outlet for your unwanted units.
Heck, there are folks still salvaging CRTs!

Yep. They want to buy the scrap by the ton. Very few will buy
untested scrap electronics because there's no way to know if it will
work when resold. I do some trading with such vendors, but I always
have to guarantee (100% refund) everything we sell each other.

We've found folks who will gladly take the (known to be defective)
LCD monitors that I won't bother to repair. I think maybe $10
or so per display (which is pretty good considering "general
eWaste -- from which the plastic and metal cases haven't been
removed -- sells for much less than $1/pound)

Buying through eBay is usually
impractical. The cost of shipping is prohibitive.
Does $20 plus $6 shipping seem prohibitive for do it thyself?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360193406812
I buy quite a few parts and pieces on eBay. Most are fair prices. A
few times, I get cheated.
Just make sure that you don't end up with a "pull"... :

That's the problem. For example, I just bought a DC controller for an
HP LaserJet 4200. Big crack on the formatter PCB. I could send it
back as defective and get another, or just patch the board and be done
with it. I'll probably phone the eBay vendor and see what he has to
offer. That's one of the risks of buying obviously used parts.

Exactly. And, if the cost of return postage becomes an issue,
it might not be economical to even *try* to return it (most
ebay sellers don't consider the threat of a "negative" to be
important; especially if they are selling in volume)

Where I get into bigger problems is buying replacement board for
products that have a manufacturing related problem. If one board is
sick or dead, it's highly likely all the boards will be in the same

Yup. This is a double-edged sword; it can also be a *boon* as you
fix *one* and you know how to fix them *all*. I ran through a
few dozen ViewSonic LCD monitors in a matter of a few days just
by making the same repairs on each of them.

What I find more frustrating is when a manufacturer changes
design within a particular model. I recently had an "identical"
pair of 17" HP LCDs. Since 17" is below my threshold for repair,
I only quickly looked at them: one had a bad inverter, the other
had a bad *display*! OK, this is a real simple fix -- just
cannabilize the two to build *one*.

After tearing (literally) the first one apart to salvage the
inverter (hey, the rest of the display is scrap so why bother
being careful with the disassembly?? :> ), I *carefully*
disassembled the second unit (the one with the good screen)
to remove and replace *its* inverter.

Only to discover that the inverter's design had been changed
mechanically. Not only had the connectors to the CCFL's
been "rendered incompatible", but the board mounting wasn't
compatible, either!

<frown> Would have been better (from a standpoint of my time)
had they *both* been defective! ;-)

condition. I had to deal with a motherboard that was just too much
work to replace all the bad caps. However, it was obvious that all

On motherboards, replacing caps is considerably more risky as
the boards are often 4 (or even 6) layers and often don't
have thermal reliefs around the caps. Unless it is a particularly
nice board, I don't bother (you also have no way of knowing if
the high ripple on those power signals hasn't toasted something
else in the design.

I'm just now re-cap-ing the power distribution boards (allows
redundant power supplies to coexist) in some Dell servers.
But, the boards in question are relatively low-tech so I don't
fear damaging them -- or the other components on them. And,
the caps sit on the outputs of the power supplies so they
are somewhat "redundant".

the replacement boards selling on eBay had exactly the same problem
because all the vendors listed their boards as no-return.

<grin> Yeah, its always amusing to see how they act as if they
don't *know* anything about the board(s). As if "untested"
meant "Gee, I haven't had time to check them" whereas what
they really mean is "I didn't BOTHER to test them cuz I'm
pretty damn *sure* they're crap!" :-/

> Caveat emptor.

 

On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:59:47 -0700, D Yuniskis
<not.going.to.be@seen.com> wrote:

Jake wrote:
On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha <saman...@comcast.net> wrote:
I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

Dell has subtle variations in these monitors -- none that I
have been able to *quickly* identify (at least not enough
that I could open one and determine which model it was just
by examining its contents!)

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

The PCB darkening is usually from the nearby switching transistor.
When replacing the cap(s), select high temperature devices (105C)
from "reputable" manufacturers (I like panasonic). You want a low
ESR cap on most of these applications -- something "designed for
switching applications" (I like the FM series as a reasonable
cost/performance point). Note that you can also purchase
different *grades* of "low ESR caps". So, if you are repairing
a particularly "cherry" monitor for your *own* use, you might
opt for something rated at ~10,000 hours (instead of ~5,000).

Also, pay careful attention to the *height* of the component!
I've been bitten by components that were just a bit too tall
to fit back into the case (*with* the metalic shield installed).
Lead spacing is also a concern but usually something you can
work around.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

It probably wouldn't hurt to examine the other caps on the board
for "likely future failures". Certain manufacturers tend to
have lots of early failures (I joke that "Xom" in the name
means "gonna crap out soon"). Since most of the "cost" of
the repair is getting the unit apart and then back together,
the extra time and expense to replace all likely candidates
seems justifiable.
As a rule of thumb, when a monitor has a defective cap, I will replace

the lot of them. As you point out, it's not worth the risk of having
to open the monitor up again.

I prefer Panasonic FM or FC series for replacements. Purchasing from
Digikey, I can redo an entire monitor for under $10, including
shipping. (OK, I seldom replace the 100 ľF 450 Volt cap).

PlainBill

 

[D Yuniskis]

PlainBill47@yahoo.com wrote:

As a rule of thumb, when a monitor has a defective cap, I will replace
the lot of them. As you point out, it's not worth the risk of having
to open the monitor up again.

I prefer Panasonic FM or FC series for replacements. Purchasing from
Digikey, I can redo an entire monitor for under $10, including
shipping. (OK, I seldom replace the 100 ľF 450 Volt cap).

I've only seen one of these "bad" (in about 100 monitors).
Despite the fact that they are often manufacture by the same
company who manufactures the other (crappy) caps on the
board! I guess the ripple currents are not as large (?)

 

[Samantha]

Just want to extend my thanks to all those that answered my post.
Didn't find much online when I went and searched for it. This is the
first time I have had had one of these apart and didn't really know what
to expect. It belongs to my aunt and I said I would take a quick look
at it.

The bad cap list was a good tip, really appreciate that, as well as the
PDF on how to disassemble the monitor.

Tomorrow is a pretty full day for me so I hope to be feeling up to
pulling this apart by saturday.

Thanks again.

S.